


A fleur de peau (on edge)

by Miciia



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Actor Steve Rogers, Alternate Universe, Angst, Bottom Bucky Barnes, Fluff, Horses, Lots, M/M, OOC, Past Abuse, Pining Steve Rogers, Slow Burn, Smut, cause i'm french, ennemies to lover, equestrian bucky, horseman bucky, if you don't like horses you're probably not gonna like that story, power bottom bucky barnes, this story happens in france
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-25 01:56:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14966621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miciia/pseuds/Miciia
Summary: Steve, an actor, decides to take a break from action movies and decides on staying at The Winter Horse, an equestrian center in a small french village to learn how to ride horses. His stay will change a lot of things in his life, especially when he meets the cute coach Bucky who seems to hate him for no reason.





	1. The winter horse

**Author's Note:**

> I'm uniting my love for horses with my love for Stucky!

Steve loved horses. That's the only reason why he accepted to shoot this sappy romance movie about a man who had never near a horse and a horsewoman falling in love. Steve usually didn't care about romance movies, he wasn't build for them with his 200 lbs of muscles anyway. But when he saw that in that movie he would be with horses all the time he didn't hesitate a second to pass the audition. And he didn't get the role, for some reason. Nick didn't understand why he was so sad about the whole not getting the role thing: it was just a role in an obscure romance movie. That's how he realized that he wanted to be near horses for a while. He hadn't been near a horse since he was like 5 when he rode a pony for his birthday. That was the only time he ever saw a horse in person. He wanted to be in the coutryside for a while, he was tired of shootings and interviews and the whole being a star thing. Not that he wanted to stop, no he just needed a break. And that's why he was in this little town in France in front of this equestrian center named The Winter Horse. 

Steve was the one who asked if he could stay in France rather than the US. He had been in France for a few months for a movie in the past and he had fallen in love with the country then. He learned how to speak french and he was pretty much bilingual now, two years later. It was like a dream come true to be in an equestrian center in France. He couldn't help being extremely hyped during his whole trip from the airport. Alex, the director of The Winter Horse, came to pick him up. Steve looked over and over at the pictures of the equestrian center he had on his phone, at the scenery that was very different from what he was used to. It was the countryside after all. He was used to LA and its huge roads and many cars so being in France felt weird. He had decided he needed to try as many things as possible for the time he was there: he had only six months. He wished he had a little longer. Steve sighed, Alex was pulling over in a small road, not even big enough to fit two cars. Steve was shocked. Was it normal in France?

“is something wrong?” Alex asked.

“why is the road so small?” Steve asked, looking worriedly ahead of the car. “what if another car comes in the other direction?”

“well, some roads can be really small in the countryside, and if another car comes, we drive on the side of the road.”

Steve gasped. “but there's a ditch”

Alex glanced at him like he was crazy. “don't worry, I know what I’m doing”

Steve had no choice but to trust him. Not two minutes later, they were pulling over in the courtyard of a big house. Steve got out of the car as soon as it stopped. He looked around with a smile plastered on his face. He could see the covered arena and the jumping arena further away. He could see the stable. He could see huge paddocks. He could smell horses. Yes he was there. He heard a horse neigh. An australian shepheard jumped on him.

“hey there boy” Steve smiled as he patted the dog's head.

Alex looked over him with a fond smile.

“she's called Lina”

“hi Lina”

“come let's get you settled in” Alex said.

Steve went to the back of the car to get his suitcase. He followed Alex inside the house. He was impressed how big it was. He walked past the huge living room and up the stairs. Lina stayed in the living room.

“there are three bedrooms here, this one is used by Bucky” he gestured to the door on the left. “so you can choose whichever you like” he gestured to the two doors on the right. “the bathroom is the last room on the left, you'll have to share with Bucky. Don't worry, he doesn't bite. How old are you?”

“I'm 27”

“he's soon to be 26, you should get along just fine then. Plus he can speak english rather well, so if you ever miss talking english”

Steve couldn't wait to meet this Bucky.

“I'll see you at dinner, take the time to settle in and rest for a bit, will you?” Alex said.

“yes, thanks for everything”

“no problem, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask.”

Steve smiled and thanked Alex. He looked out the window, not a single building to be seen. Just a few houses and lots of cows. He couldn't wait to explore the area and walk around freely. Steve looked around the room: there was a double bed next to the window, nestled against the walls. A wardrobe was standing against the wall on the other side of the window, next to the door. There was also a desk on the last wall. Steve fell down on the bed and moaned, damn it felt good to be laying down after all this time in an airplane. Steve rested for a minute before he took out his phone. He realized he didn't have the wifi password yet. He let his phone on the bed and decided to put his clothes in the wardrobe before going downstairs.

It took him fifteen minutes to put away all of his clothes which mainly consisted of brand new horse riding clothes and old clothes he could wear without worrying dirtying them. He also packed a few pretty clothes of course, in case they needed to go somewhere. When he finally went downstairs, Alex was preparing the meal. The TV was lit and there was someone laying on the couch reading a magazine. Steve glanced at the man when he walked past him. The man shot him a glare and that was it. Steve didn't look at him for too long even though he did want to stare. The man looked beautiful.

“oh Steve, do you like lasagna?” Alex asked when Steve entered the kitchen.

“yes!” Steve answered.

He stood in the doorframe, all sheepish. 

“do you need anything?” Alex asked.

“who's the person sitting in the couch?” Steve asked.

He immediately regretted his question. He didn't want to intrude in Alex's life especially since the guy on the couch shot him a glare.

“he didn't introduce himself?”

“no?”

“that's Bucky, he usually is more talkative. Go ahead and introduce yourself”

Steve went back to the living room. He posted himself in front of the TV, Bucky ignored him. Steve cleared his throat and Bucky finally looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. Steve lost his words, subjugated by Bucky's simple beauty. He had rarely seen a person that good looking, and he worked with lots of beautiful actors.

“yes?” Bucky asked eventually.

“I, hum, I am Steve Rogers, I mean, you probably already know me, no, I mean” Steve stuttered.

“you're right I know who you are.” Bucky deadpanned.

Steve tried offering a smile but Bucky's face did not move an inch.

“I'm James Buchanan Barnes” Bucky sighed. “but just call me Bucky.”

Bucky went back to looking at his magazine and as much as Steve wanted to stare at the man for a few moments longer, he had to get away and not act like a creep. He went back to the kitchen to help preparing dinner but turned out Alex didn't need help. He went back to sit on the couch, as far away from Bucky as possible. He looked at the TV, it was a show called Quotidien. Steve smiled fondly, he had been quite a few times on this show for promotions, he liked the host. He watched the TV for a while, and somewhere in the meantime Bucky got up and put on the table. Steve didn't realize what was going on until Alex called him over to eat. The smell was making his mouth water. It had been such a long time since he last ate lasagna and it did not disappoint. He almost moaned when he put the first bite of food in his mouth. He told Alex how delicious it was. 

“so” Alex said. Steve looked up at him. “is there anything you don't eat?”

“actually, I have a very strict diet”

“that's right, we got a note from your agent. You'll have to cook for your own meals because we don't eat the same things”

“no problem, I'm used to cooking for myself”

“was it a problem to let you eat lasagna today?”

“not at all! I can eat whatever I want on Saturdays”

Alex smiled. “I won't be yelled at”

Steve smiled as well. “he wouldn't yell at anyone but me”

“Amaranthe is limping” Bucky said, interrupting the two men.

Steve glanced at Bucky who hadn't say a word until now.

“again?” Alex asked.

“yeah, I checked her right foreleg and turns out her tendon was hot. I applied some ointment but we should probably make her see a vet or something”

Steve was curious but he didn't say anything.

“you're right, it's been three times in a month, I'll call the vet tomorrow. Though it's probably nothing. Did you put her in a box for the night?”

“yes”

“good, I'll check on her tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, you're the one who will show Steve around”

Steve was suddenly even more excited about tomorrow.

“I don't want to”

His excitation came back down.

“I have a few particular classes to give, so yeah you're going to show him around.”

“I have to ride Fluorite”

“you'll only ride him in the afternoon though”

Bucky groaned. “okay, I’ll show him around.”

Steve didn't understand what he did to make Bucky angry. He looked expectantly at Bucky but he never looked back at him for the whole dinner. Steve left the table first, he was tired and needed to contact Nick and Tony. He got the wifi password and left to his room. He sent a first message to Nick to reassure him even though Nick would never allow himself to say that he worried about Steve. He later sent a text to his best friend Tony to let him know that he already loved the place. Tony immediately asked for pictures. Steve sent him a picture of the view from his window. Tony called him through messenger.

“Is there anyone pretty around here?” Tony asked after making his best friend was alright.

Steve rolled his eyes, really he only thought of that.

“I only got here like one hour ago you know”

“still, did you see some attractive people?”

“yes, there is one”

“really? Wow maybe little Steve will finally be up to something”

Steve blushed and hid his face in the pillow. Damn Tony and his dirty mind.

“I don't think it's gonna happen”

“don't tell them you're a virgin so they don't flee”

Steve wanted to punch his best friend through the screen.

“on a scale of one to ten, how good looking are they?”

“he's an eleven”

As if on cue, someone knocked on his door. 

“wait a sec” Steve left his phone on his bed and he walked over to the door. “yes?” he said when he answered the door.

Bucky was standing in front of him. Steve's eyes met Bucky's and his deep blue irises shone in the sun setting light. His semi long black hair was framing his face, making him look mysterious. Steve was surprised someone who looked so plain could look so good.

“tomorrow, you can get up whenever you want as long as it's in the morning. But only tomorrow morning, after that you'll have a strict planning. I’ll be around the center somewhere.”

“how will I know where to find you?”

“by looking around? I'll probably be in the stable. You're forbidden to enter the paddocks alone until I say otherwise. Good night”

Bucky turned around and entered his own room. Steve's eyes did not linger on the butt trapped in tight clothing. He closed his door and went back to grab his phone.

“I'm back” Steve said.

“who was it? Was it pretty boy? Did he want an autograph?”

“no, he wanted to tell me about tomorrow morning”

“are you excited to start your training?”

“yes, I will probably stay up all night”

“don't do that or he'll kick your ass”

“he wouldn't do that”

“pretty people are unpredictable, take yourself for example.”

Steve chuckled.

“I mean it, no one thought you would take a six months break”

“I was close to a burnout you know”

“I know you had it bad but I never thought it was bad enough for you to take a break! Well, you do what you feel is best for you”

Steve smiled. “yeah, that's probably the best thing that ever happened to me”

“because of handsome stranger?”

“ _because_ I’m surrounded by nothing but green paddocks, cows and horses.”

“and a beautiful man”

“he's not even that beautiful.”

“you just said he was an eleven”

“I don't know how to explain it, he's really attractive even though he has nothing special about him”

“maybe because you're surrounded by beautiful people all the time, someone who has some imperfections look better because they're more unique?”

“maybe”

“ah sorry but work is calling for me, talk to you soon”

“see you”

Steve rolled over on his back. He wasn't tired, he had slept in the airplane. Maybe it had been a bad move, because he didn't fall asleep until 2am.

He woke up at 10am, and he dammed himself for waking up so late. He went out of his room, dressed in riding clothes. He was alone in the house and he settled on eating only a fruit for breakfast. He didn't want to take all of their eggs on his first day since they probably didn't go shopping especially for him. He would pay for all his expenses of course. He left the house and leaped happily to the stable. A chestnut horse attached to a box looked at him. He noticed a red haired woman was grooming the horse. Steve cleared his throat and she turned around.

“good morning” she said.

“good morning, do you know where Bucky, I mean James, is?”

she smiled. “are you Steve rogers?”

Steve nodded.

“I'm Natasha, nice to meet you. Everyone calls James Bucky so don't worry about calling him by his nickname. He went to the field to put some hay in the feeding bowls, he should be back soon”

Steve nodded. It felt weird to not be treated as the superstar.

“do you need anything else?” she asked.

He walked up to the horse. “who's he?”

“he's Stelafir”

“he's beautiful”

Steve looked at the horse, he was a little intimidated, Stelafir was really tall even to him. Natasha chuckled.

“so you've really been near a horse?” she asked while brushing the horse.

“how do you know?” Steve asked surprised.

“Bucky told us. Well, us is just his closest friends.”

“did he tell anyone I was going to come here?”

She smiled. “he told everyone who's acquainted in the center. He also made us promise not to put it somewhere on the internet or we'll be banned from the center for eternity. In exchange we get to approach you freely and talk with you”

Steve was surprised by what he heard. Did he really went to such length to make sure he would be left alone?

“I'll have to thank him”

“he's the best”

Steve didn't doubt that. Maybe yesterday happened was just because he was tired after a hard day of work.

“you look thinner in real life than in your movies” Natasha said.

Steve chuckled. “I get told that a lot”

The sound of a tractor interrupted their conversation. Less than a minute later, Bucky was appearing under Stelafir neck.

“you're here.” Bucky said when he saw Steve. “come with me.”

Bucky grabbed a halter and left towards a field, Steve following suit. Steve heard a scream coming from the arena, he saw a horse galloping. But he didn't get the chance to look more closely at the horse, Bucky called for him: he was holding the electric barrier for Steve. Steve ran to catch up with him. They walked across the whole field. They ignored horses who were looking at them expectantly. They all looked almost the same to Steve, they all had one solid coat color.

“how do you recognize them?”

“you'll be able to tell them apart in less than a week.”

“how many do you have?”

“in total? Counting the ones in full boarding and the ponies? I'd say around 50.”

“that's a lot”

Bucky stopped talking. He sounded distant to Steve who shook his head, it was probably his imagination. They stopped in front of a dark chestnut horse. Bucky took some orange tiny food from his pocket and gave them to the horse.

“this is Marina. She will be your horse for the next month. You won't be the only riding her though. She is our oldest and also kindest horse. She knows everything about her work, so you shouldn't have any troubles learning with her. Here” Bucky handed the same food but one green and the other red. “give it to her”

“what is it?”

“sweets”

Steve tried to give the sweets by holding them with his fingertips.

“no” Bucky said.

He took the sweets and opened Steve's hand. The contact of Bucky's fingers against his palm when he put back the sweets in his hand made him shiver. He quickly willed his body to calm down.

“always give food with your hand wide open or else you're gonna get your fingers bitten.”

Steve nodded and handed the sweets to Marina who ate them quickly.

“when you come to get a horse from pasture, always give them sweets. I'll show you where to find them later.”

Another horse had gathered near them, he was a grey horse.

“this is Quartz.”

Quartz decided to bump Steve with his nose. Steve hesitantly put a hand on the horse's forehead and caressed him. Steve smiled brightly, the coat of the horse was very soft under his palm. Quartz used his nose to search Steve's pockets, he chuckled.

“he wants some sweets too” Steve said.

“you don't say”

“can I give him some?”

“no, we don't have all morning since you decided to sleep in”

“oh okay” he turned around to look at Marina.

“I'm gonna show you how to put on a halter.”

Bucky slowly put on the halter on Marina, explaining each little step even if there wasn't a lot of them.

“your turn” Bucky said, taking off the halter.

Steve anxiously took the halter and repeated the steps he had just seen.

“good, take the lead near the horse with your right hand. Now, with your left hand you take the rest of the lead. No, don't rope it around your hand, because your hand will be stuck and you won't have a hand anymore.”

Steve did his best to follow the instructions.

“and now?” Steve asked.

“you follow me, she'll follow you. Don't look at her, look ahead of you and walk with assurance.”

Steve started walking after Bucky who was walking backwards.

“you're doing good.”

Even when complimenting Steve he sounded distant. Steve frowned when Bucky turned around. He couldn't understand him at all. They walked all the way to where they entered the field. Bucky held the barrier for Steve.

“each horse has its own place, there is a paper showing the horse and its place. Come and check it”

Steve followed Bucky. He found the paper and found Marina's place. He quickly counted the horses' names on the paper, there were 21 names.

“why is there only 21 names on the paper?” Steve said while putting Marina in her place.

“because those are the horses and tall ponies. The Shetlands are attached somewhere else. Alex's own horses are also attached somewhere else and the boarding horses are attached in the stable where you met Natasha.”

“does that mean Stelafir is Natasha's horse?”

“no, it's a boarding horse she rides when his rider can't. Which happens pretty often. Let me show you how to make a knot with the lead.”

Bucky showed Steve, and Steve was amazed when he detached the whole knot with only one pull. He tried doing it as well and quickly got the hang of it. Bucky then showed him the saddle room where bridles and saddles were put away. There was also grooming boxes and riding caps.

“take one.” Bucky pointed at the grooming boxes.

Steve did just that. He followed Bucky back to Marina. Bucky explained the different brushes and how to use them and then he let Steve brush the horse in silence. Steve definitely loved brushing Marina. He was smiling. He wanted to talk to Marina and tell her she was a good girl but he didn't want to be judged by Bucky, considering the guy didn't like him at all. What could he possibly have done to make the brunet hate him? He was going to walk right behind the horse when Bucky stopped him.

“you can't walk behind a horse, what are you gonna do if she kicks? If you need to walk behind her, you put your hand above her tail or walk far away.”

Steve nodded and put his hand on her for the whole time he was behind her. He brushed the other side and glanced at Bucky here and there. Bucky was looking at the arenas. The more Steve thought about it, the more he convinced himself Bucky wasn't that good looking. Especially with the way he was treating Steve. Steve was hoping Bucky would warm up to him eventually, he couldn't convince himself after all. Half an hour later, Marina was clean. Steve discovered that horses liked to be rubbed on the forehead, on the cheeks and on the withers. Steve was really happy to learn that.

Steve went to grab the saddle.

“why is there two saddle clothes?” Steve asked.

“the thick black one is a saddle pad, it's used to protect the horse's back.”

Steve nodded and Bucky showed how to put on the saddle before taking it all off and giving everything to Steve so he could learn how to do it himself. Before he could fasten the girth, Bucky stopped him.

“you forgot to pull up the saddle cloth around near the withers, if you don't do it the horse will be hurt.” Bucky explained.

Steve looked horrified at the idea of hurting Marina. Bucky then showed him how to put on the bridle. It was a little more complicated than putting on the saddle, especially because he needed to put his thumb inside Marina's mouth.

“look” Bucky said when he noticed Steve's discomfort. He pulled her lips open to show Marina's teeth. “horses don't have teeth at the corner of their lips. You don't risk anything okay?”

Bucky let go of Marina's lips and Steve tried to put on the bridle. It was still hard to do but he managed with Bucky's help. And then it was finally time to ride the horse. Steve was anxious but at the same time very excited. They headed towards the covered arena, which was way smaller than the jumping arena but there already was Natasha with Stelafir working.

“Alex!” Bucky screamed to attract his attention, it frightened Steve who wasn't expecting it.

Natasha kept galloping in a big circle.

“you need anything?” he asked from the middle of the arena.

“yes, I need the arena, when will you be finished?

“in 15 minutes more or less”

“I'll take the jumping arena then”

“I'll go in the jumping arena after so we'll have to exchange”

“how tall do you want the obstacles?”

“ho no I’m not gonna jump, I’m just leaving you the covered arena”

“okay, let's go steve”

It was the first time he heard Bucky say his name. It sounded kinda nice. He took a mounting block with him before going to the jumping arena. There were lots of obstacles and it scared Steve a bit. But he didn't say anything. They spent the next 20 minutes walking, letting Steve get used to the horse. He needed to think about a lot of things: moving his pelvis in rhythm with the horse's movements, keeping his heels down, keeping the horse moving, keeping his hands near the withers, looking ahead. It was a lot for Steve. He was somewhat overwhelmed but he also felt really happy. It was super nice to be on a horse. He couldn't wait to start trotting and galloping. And when they finally went into the covered arena, Bucky didn't make him do anything but walk the rest of the lesson. He made him turn and turn and do circles and half circles and all kinds of exercises to learn how to control the horse. At last, when it was near the end of the lesson, Bucky taught Steve how to trot and oh boy was it hard to sit up and down in rhythm. But it was fun. Steve was smiling happily during the whole time he was trotting and even afterwards. Steve took care of his horse before they went to eat, after 1pm. They entered the house and Alex was just finishing eating.

“so how was it?” he asked both Bucky and Steve.

“not bad” Bucky said, heading for the kitchen.

“there's croque monsieur!” Alex screamed after him. Alex looked back at Steve. “so?”

“it was amazing” Steve nodded dreamily. He was already imagining himself galloping in the forest. “I can't wait to learn more”

“you know you can leave whenever you want to, if you ever feel like it” Alex reminded Steve.

Steve shook his head. “there's no way I’m leaving now, I wanna trot, canter, jump, ride.”

Steve was determined that for now he would be having as much fun as he could without thinking about when this would end.


	2. Ignorance

It had been a week since Steve first got at The Winter Horse and it had been amazing. He got to ride everyday, and he was loving it even more each passing day. He was now able to walk, trot and canter at will, he could control his horse quite well. He really wanted nothing more than to keep riding. In the morning, he rode. In the afternoon, he helped cleaning the stables. At night he slept. No fan, no pressure, just him, Bucky, Alex and the horses. He had memorized most of the horses' names by now, he was proud of himself.

This Saturday, Steve was going to have his first riding lesson with other people. He was really excited, first because he would ride a horse other than Marina and second because he would ride with other people. He knew he would ride with kids but it was better than nothing. He left the house an hour before his class began, just like Bucky told him to. There was no one in the center for now, it was still calm. He found Bucky putting obstacles up in the arena. He approached him, he wanted to go catch his horse already.

“what do you want?” Bucky asked when he saw him walking towards him.

“I, hum, I came to catch my horse”

“do you know who you're riding?”

“Protocole”

“do you know who he is?”

“he's a dark bay horse with 4 high stockings”

“then congrats you don't need me anymore.”

Steve was shocked. He liked spending time with Bucky even though they didn't say anything.

“what are you waiting for?” Bucky asked, lifting an obstacle pole and putting it up between the stands.

Steve nodded and left Bucky. He took his time to groom his horse, since he had all the time in the world. He was missing the presence of Bucky near him but at the same time he was very proud to be able to take care of his horse alone. Soon enough, a lot of people were walking past him, smirking and chuckling. They were younger than Steve and he knew exactly that they were probably fans. By the time Steve had finished putting on the bridle and the saddle, numerous people had come and introduced themselves. That made Natasha smile, she was grooming Bob who was attached next to Protocole.

“you're quite popular aren't you?” she said when she put on the saddle.

“don't tell me” he smiled. He walked under Protocole's neck to stand near Bob. “I can't help it”

“you should be careful, all those girls will want to kiss you on both cheeks”

Steve blinked. “do I have to?”

“if you're not comfortable with it, you'll have to tell them. It will break their hearts though.”

“why do you even do that?”

“kiss on both cheeks? it's just a way to say hello, nothing more. It's not considered sensual or intimate. I think you should kiss on both cheeks the people you're closest to for now”

“so for now, you and Alex”

“not bucky? And men don't kiss on both cheeks, they shake hands”

“it's so complicated”

She rolled her eyes playfully.

“you should go and meet Alex before your lesson starts.”

“I'm riding with Alex?”

“yes you are, Bucky is taking care of the more experienced riders”

Steve couldn't help the disappointment showing on his face. If Natasha saw it she didn't mention it.

“I'll go now”

Steve went to find Alex. He found him in the stables with the Shetlands and small ponies.

“are you ready?” Alex asked him.

Steve nodded. 

“is Marina ready?” Alex asked.

“I'm riding Protocole today”

Alex frowned. “Bucky didn't tell me”

“is it a problem? Should I go get Marina?”

“no, it's okay, Protocole is a good horse for beginners, that just means Bucky thinks you've improved a lot” Alex smiled.

Steve beamed. It was the best compliment he ever received from Bucky.

“let's ride then” Alex said. “get on the horse!”

Steve followed his small comrades to the covered arena where they got on their horse. Steve looked at all the other horses who were beautiful. He recognized Stelafir. Steve started walking near the barrier of the arena.

“Protocole's sleeping!” Natasha said playfully when she walked past Steve on the other side of the barrier.

Steve waved at her. He wanted to see her ride, she was beautiful on and off a horse. But for now, he was on his own horse and he had to focus. He soon discovered that working with other horses wasn't that much more difficult but that was only because he was in front of everyone, the ponies were following him. When they had to walk in the whole arena separately, things were a bit more complicated. Especially when they started trotting around. Steve was overwhelmed by the amount of things he had to pay attention to. And Protocole seemed much more interesting in following the ponies rather than going where Steve wanted him to. At the end of the lesson, they got all at the same rein and starting galloping. And then that was it for the day. Steve gave his horse to a young girl for her to ride. He asked Alex about what he should do for the rest of the afternoon.

“you can either go back home or watch the other lessons.”

“I'll watch” Steve answered without a second thought.

They walked towards the jumping arena together. Bucky was almost done giving his lesson. They were jumping obstacles that were more than 2 feet tall. Steve was impressed he didn't know if he would ever be good enough to jump that high. It was Natasha's turn to jump, it looked like a perfect jump.

“don't push him that much, wait for the jump! Do it again!” Bucky screamed.

Steve frowned. “what did she do wrong?”

“she made him go too fast and she jumped before the horse”

Steve nodded. Natasha came back in front of the obstacle. This time it had to be a perfect jump.

“you could have worked a bit more in front of the obstacle but it's better” Bucky shouted. “that's it for today”

The horses came towards the fence and Alex opened the fence for them. Natasha got off her horse and greeted the man who was taking Bob with a smile. She came up to Steve.

“Nat!” Bucky asked from the other side of the barrier. “can you prepare Fluorite for me?”

“Ah sorry but I can't today” Natasha apologized.

“it's okay don't worry” Bucky said.

“Steve can groom Fluorite, he has nothing to do at the moment” Alex said.

“oh okay then. Do you know who he is?” Bucky asked.

Steve nodded.

“do you know how to catch him?” Bucky asked.

Steve shook his head..

“I'll show him before I leave” Natasha said. “follow me”

Steve followed Natasha to a paddock on the other side of the road. Fluorite was a champagne colored horse, small and lean. He was beautiful but he had quite the character, he refused to be approached by Steve. That made Natasha laugh.

“well now that you two have met, I should leave” Natasha said.

“no! How do I catch him?”

“don't worry, he loves doing that. He'll come around eventually” She winked before she left the paddock.

“no!”

Steve sighed. How would he catch a horse that did not want to be catch?

“don't push him against a corner or he'll kick” Natasha warned him as she drove past him.

Steve didn't have any other idea. He sighed deeply and he heard footsteps behind him. He looked back and saw Fluorite looking back at him. He looked ahead and waited for the horse to approach him on his own. It took a couple minutes but in the end, Steve was able to touch Fluorite and put on the halter. He patted the horse's neck.

“good boy” he said in English while giving him a lot of sweets.

He went back to the stables and saw a box with Fluorite written on it. He attached the horse next to his box, and started grooming. The horse couldn't help looking at him all the time, especially when Steve talked to him in English: he sounded stupid but he didn't care. He still made sure no one heard him.

“hi” a voice said right behind him.

Steve jumped at the sound, he didn't hear him arrive at all. He turned around and saw a middle aged man.

“I don't think we've been introduced yet, I'm Clint”

Clint gave out a hand that Steve shook.

“hi I'm...”

“Steve Rogers, everyone knows you”

Steve smiled sheepishly.

“so, you're preparing Fluorite?” Clint patted the horse's neck. “he's quite the horse”

“really? I've already seen Bucky ride him and he wasn't that weird”

“I didn't mean it like that. I meant to say he's amazing, he can jump more than 100 cm.”

“is that a lot?”

“oh I forgot you don't have the same measurements, how many centimeters is a foot?”

“about 30”

“oh it's more than 3 feet tall”

Steve's eyes widened. He looked back at the horse.

“this small horse can jump that high?”

“he's not that small, and don't say that to Bucky”

“why?”

“Fluorite's his most precious horse, he's on edge whenever you do something wrong with him”

“he seems to be on edge all the time”

Clint frowned. “he has to be one of the kindest people on earth”

“I think he just doesn't like me” Steve shrugged.

Clint shook his head. “that's impossible, he wouldn't let someone he doesn't like take care of his precious Fluorite”

“what are you doing here though?”

“my horse is in the box next to Fluorite” Clint pointed behind him.

He looked at the open box door and Stelafir was looking back at him.

“you're Stelafir's rider!” Steve said excitedly.

“yes I am!” he said proudly. “and I must say Nat is doing wonders with him. Also the way you talk to horses is extremely cute, even though I didn't understand anything”

Steve blushed because he couldn't deny.

“don't worry, I'll keep it secret” Clint winked.

Why did everyone winked that day.

“do you know where the equipment is?” Clint asked.

“no”

“I'll show you where it is” Clint said.

He headed to the saddle room that was in the back of the stables.

“this is where we put the stuff for the boarding horses and Alex's horses”

Steve took Fluorite's stuff and headed back to him.

“none of the horses here are Bucky's?”

“he only has Fluorite”

“how come?”

“I had a mare who died when giving birth to Fluorite.” Bucky explained.

Steve jumped. Clint saw him coming.

“oh, I'm sorry” Steve said sheepishly.

“you didn't know.” Bucky answered.

Clint squinted. Bucky looked around the horse to make sure he was in good shape and that he was not hurt anywhere. When he was finally happy with the horse, he looked at Steve.

“I'll take it from here. Thanks.”

Steve nodded and stepped away from the horse. He stopped near Stelafir who smelled his head.

“is everything okay?” Clint asked Bucky.

“yes why?” he gave a smile to his friend and even Steve could see it was half hearted.

When Fluorite was ready, Bucky left the stables, Steve behind him. He liked seeing Bucky ride, it was beautiful. And he made a perfect duo with Fluorite. He hoped he could see them jump, he also saw them jump once and it wasn't very high. But they did dressage, which was just as good. Steve's eyes were glued on Bucky, he was impressed by the fact that he put his stirrups over the horse's withers. His ass was glued to the saddle, his hips moving in rhythm with Fluorite's movements. He was amazing.

“last exercise!” Alex screamed.

Steve pouted, he could have watched them all day long.

“we're doing haunches in on the long side, then start at canter, circle in C and then back to walking in A.”

Steve looked as Bucky pulled it off with a bit of hard work. He was focused and frowning slightly, Steve could see it everytime he walked past him. Steve loved that look on him. Soon, the lesson was finished and Alex complimented Bucky. Steve couldn't hear what they were saying but Bucky had a huge smile on his face as he patted the horse's neck. It was the first time Steve saw him smile. He definitely liked that look better. He wanted this smile to be directed towards him. Alex approached Steve.

“how did you like the lesson? Or should I say Bucky?”

Steve's eyes opened comically wide. “what?”

“don't worry, I know you were just watching Fluorite”

Steve almost let out a huge sigh, he didn't want Alex to know he had been shamelessly gazing at Bucky.

“he's amazing” Steve nodded.

“he's only 4 years old”

“is it young?”

“very young, he's an amazing horse, we have great hopes for the duo”

Alex left Steve to tend to other things. Steve didn't know exactly what he should now. He decided to take a chance with talking to Bucky. He entered the stables and Bucky was grooming Fluorite. Steve approached Bucky from behind.

“hey” he said, startling Bucky. 

“what do you want?” Bucky asked, not bothering looking behind him.

“I just wanted to tell you you did great during the lesson”

“thanks”

Steve was uneasy. He didn't know what to say.

“Fluorite is really amazing” Steve tried.

“he is”

Bucky wasn't helping.

“what do you wanna eat tonight?” Steve asked.

“what does it matter? You don't eat the same thing as us.”

Steve grunted to himself.

“if you have nothing to say, you should leave” Bucky said.

Steve blinked. It was official, Bucky hated him.

“do you hate me?” Steve asked bluntly.

Bucky finally looked behind him at Steve.

“no?”

“oh, okay”

Steve left. He was pretty sure Bucky was lying. He fell down on his bed, looking at the fluorescent stars and moon stuck to the ceiling. He noticed them the first night he slept here and he kinda liked them. He sighed deeply, he couldn't understand why Bucky hated him. He had done nothing to make the guy angry. Everyone seemed to like Bucky because he was kind but he was definitely not. And he was definitely ugly, why did Steve ever found him attractive? He closed his eyes and Bucky's smile appeared behind his eyelids. Okay, the guy was beautiful, he couldn't deny that. But he was a waste of a pretty face. Steve must have fallen asleep because when he opened his eyes the sun was setting outside. He went down the stairs and found Bucky watching TV and Alex was in the kitchen preparing dinner. Steve went to help Alex out.

“tomorrow, you and Bucky are going to go grocery shopping”

“okay!” Steve was excited. He had never seen a french mall before.

“Bucky already knows about it” Alex said. “he's not happy about it so don't mind him tonight”

“does he hate me?”

“no, don't worry, he doesn't like going grocery shopping, too much people”

Steve nodded. He kept preparing his meal in silence. They ate in silence for a while.

“did you lose weight?” Alex asked. “you seem thinner than when you came in”

“that's because I don't get to exercise as much as when I was in Los Angeles”

“what do you need?”

“a gym”

“there's one in the nearest big town I think, if you want to check it out”

“thanks! I will!”

“Bucky, could you drive him there on Monday?”

“why me?”

“because you know where it is”

Bucky nodded even though he didn't look too happy to be a taxi.

~~

The next day, Bucky woke up Steve by screaming his name and knocking at his door. Steve sleepily looked at the clock, it was 9am. Why was he so loud so early was a mistery.

“can I come in?” Bucky asked.

“yes” Steve said, voice heavy with sleep.

He was sitting shirtless on his bed, rubbing his neck. He looked up at Bucky who was wearing tight jeans and a plain white t shirt.

“we're leaving in 30 minutes, get ready”

Bucky then left Steve who grunted. He wanted to sleep some more, that was what days off were for. But he still woke up and took a quick shower. He ate his breakfast in silence, Bucky was searching for bags and Alex was tending to the horses.

“why are we going so early?” Steve asked eventually.

“less people”

It made sense. Steve and Bucky finally got into the car and the gearbox surprised Steve.

“so that's what a gearbox looks like, I've never used one”

“of course you only drive automatic cars, that means I’ll have to be a taxi” Bucky sighed as he started the engine.

Steve looked at Bucky's face. “I can live without a gym”

“you have to stay muscular for your job though, I'll be a taxi.”

Steve blinked. It was the first time Bucky was nice to him.

“thanks” Steve said.

They didn't say anything else during their ten minutes trip to the mall. The mall was way smaller than any mall Steve had ever seen. He was wondering how they'd find everything that they needed. Steve and Bucky took a cart, cart that needed a 1 euro coin to disconnect from the other carts. Steve found it amazing and Bucky just rolled his eyes because it was normal in France. They entered the mall, Steve was driving the cart and Bucky was gathering the objects they needed. Steve was looking at every thing they had, every food item. He couldn't understand all the names but he didn't bother Bucky with questions about every tiny thing. The quantities were also very small, it was weirding Steve out. They walked in the chocolate aisle and Steve's eyes grew wide. They had so many different chocolate, he couldn't look at each one of them. He wanted to taste every single one, especially the one with crème brulé inside milk chocolate.

“you coming?” Bucky asked him when he noticed Steve wasn't following him anymore.

“can I buy that?” he asked, showing the crème brulé chocolate.

“if you want to” Bucky shrugged.

Steve felt like a kid asking his mom, he felt dumb. He put the chocolate inside the cart. He was still happy he would get to try something new.

“you look like you are on a little cloud” Bucky mumbled.

“I'm on a what now?” Steve asked, not really understanding what he meant.

“on a little cloud, you look happy” Bucky explained. “french idiom” He shrugged.

“oh” Steve looked to the side.

They kept doing grocery shopping. Steve realized it was the first time Bucky ever talked to Steve without sounding distant. Maybe he wasn't supposed to hear that. About an hour and a half after they began shopping, they were packing the groceries in the car. It had gone smoothly for the most part, they didn't talk to each other at all except for the chocolate gate. The ride home was also silent. It was making Steve very uncomfortable.

“I don't need help unpacking, you can do whatever you want” Bucky said when they started unpacking the bags in the kitchen.

“okay” Steve said.

He didn't leave the kitchen yet, he wanted to stay a bit longer with Bucky. The latter raised an eyebrow at Steve.

“I, hum, I want my chocolate”

Bucky took out the chocolate from one of the bags. He threw it at Steve who almost didn't catch it.

“what's that?” Alex asked from behind Steve.

Steve flinched, he needed to be more aware of his surroundings. 

“oh, chocolate” Alex noted. “is this even allowed in your diet?”

“no one needs to know” Steve put a finger over his mouth.

“I've never eaten this kind of chocolate before, can I?” Alex asked.

Steve nodded and opened the chocolate. He took a piece and gave another one to Alex. Steve moaned when he bit into the chocolate, it was delicious.

“It's so good” the blond said, taking another piece.

Alex hummed in agreement.

“Bucky, do you want a piece?” Steve asked.

Bucky hesitated but in the end he gave out his hand. Steve placed a piece of the chocolate in his palm. Bucky hummed when he chewed the chocolate. That hum of pleasure made stuff happen in Steve' stomach. He willed the butterflies down quickly, he didn't need a crush especially not on Bucky. And specifically not a crush based on appearance and a hum of pleasure. Steve decided to leave the kitchen. He leaned against the window in his bedroom and sighed. He thought about his reaction to Bucky's hum and Bucky in general. There was something about him that was intriguing. Maybe because he wouldn't open up to Steve, most likely because he hiding something. That was the only reason why Steve was attracted to him. That and his genuine smile. And his focused frown. And the fact that he seems to be kind to everyone. Steve sighed again, who was he fooling, he was attracted to Bucky. He wanted to do his best to get closer to him. His phone beeped, his best friend Sam was calling him.

“hi big guy, how's it going?” Sam said happily.

“hi, I'm fine and you?” Steve was happy to hear English after all this time. He could relax a bit.

“I'm fine, I think you forgot to call me since you got in France”

“erm...yeah, sorry about that, I was busy”

“I'm just messing with you, don't worry, I don't mind, I know it must be tough to land in another country and be overwhelmed with new things and forget your best friend”

“I'm so sorry, and yes it is tough, especially speaking french all the time, it's really hard”

“I still don't get why you decided to stay in France”

“I love France, and I just ate some really weird chocolate: milk chocolate with crème brulé inside”

“the hell? Is France even real?”

“I know! It was delicious”

“so, how is the horse riding going?”

“it's amazing, no it's beyond that, it's like I was meant to be on a horse”

“are you sure you're okay?”

“I am, this is amazing. Plus the people around here are really nice”

“that's always good. Speaking of, is there any pretty girl, boy or anything in between around here?”

Steve could see him raising his eyebrows.

“why is everyone always asking about pretty people?”

“who else asked?”

“Tony”

Sam gasped. “I can't believe you called him and not me”

“he asked me to call him the moment I was out the airplane”

“and you didn't think of calling me? I'm hurt”

“I'm sorry! I had so much to think about this week, the horses, being in France, Bucky...”

“Bucky? Who is this?”

“it's no one”

“no no no, don't get back inside your shell, what did Bucky do to my boy?”

“no, he didn't do anything, he's my coach”

“did he really do nothing?”

“yes and that's the problem” Steve admitted.

“oh?”

“yeah, he's ignoring me”

“and that makes you unhappy?”

“yeah”

“why?”

“he seems to be really friendly towards everyone else and...”

“and?”

“and nothing”

“you either said too much or too little Steve”

“he's really good looking, like really cute”

“oh my big grown up boy has a crush”

“it's not a crush”

“does Sharon knows?”

“come on, we kissed once, and that was it”

“maybe for you but not for her”

“I never answered any texts from her, I think she got the hint”

“mmh” Steve was certain Sam shrugged. “I hope you're right”

“she stopped sending messages around the time I got in France”

“wait doesn't that make you an asshole to kiss her and never talk to her ever again?”

“I kissed her by accident”

“your first kiss in years”

“oh shut up”

“how do you kiss by accident?”

“I misread the mood”

“and who told you to never talk to her ever again?”

“Tony”

“of fucking course”

“language”

“shut up. Anyway, enough talking about her, what about your current life at the stables?”

“they have a tractor, next week I'll ask to drive it”

“that's so cool”

“I'll tell you how it is later”

They talked for more than an hour, when they ended the call it was hard for Steve to go back to speaking french, he had a thicker accent than usual. The next day he saw Bucky go up to the tractor.

“can you teach me how to drive the tractor?” Steve asked.

“later” Bucky said before starting the engine.

It seemed later meant never. Steve still tried his best to talk with Bucky for the whole week but all he could get were one sentence responses. Even when they were in the car to drive Steve to the gym every two days, they didn't talk. Steve made sure to always take a shower before going back home, to make sure he was always neat near Bucky. He wasn't doing that to attract his attention, at least that's what he was telling himself. It seemed the only moment Bucky talked to him was during his daily horse riding lesson. And even then he never talked more than necessary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> an update? already? what can I say, I love writing this story

**Author's Note:**

> fall in love already!


End file.
